Four killed, 53 missing in China landslide

Four people have been killed and 53 remain missing after heavy rains triggered a landslide in a remote and mountainous area of south-west China on Thursday, the government said.

The victims were construction labourers who had been working on a dam in Kangding county, an area traditionally populated by ethnic Tibetans in Sichuan province, according to a statement on the civil affairs ministry's website.

The state-run Xinhua news agency said the disaster occurred at 3:00 am (local time) and also blocked a local river, causing a lake to build up behind the rubble.

Three other people were injured and 97 "trapped," the ministry said.

However, Xinhua reported that those trapped had been rescued.

"The heavy rains yesterday and today caused the landslides," said an official at the emergency headquarters of the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where Kangding is located.

According to China National Radio, a stretch of highway nearly three kilometres long was engulfed by the landslide, while electricity to the area was cut and communications disrupted.